Dibrugarh: The tea garden community in upper Assam plays a key role during elections, as they often decide the fate of candidates and the party that comes to power.
The tea garden community dominates the electoral scenario in upper Assam because they form the majority in many constituencies. However, the story of every tea garden worker remains largely the same.
Sarla Munda (45), a tea plucker at Jamira Tea Estate in Dibrugarh, expressed appreciation for the developmental initiatives undertaken by the Assam government.
Like Sarla, other tea pluckers are happy with the schemes provided by the BJP-led government in Assam. Jamira Tea Estate is a private estate located in the easternmost part of Assam’s Dibrugarh district.
The women of the tea garden expressed their happiness by singing traditional songs while plucking tea leaves.
The tea garden community plays a crucial role in every election in Assam, as they often determine the success of candidates. Dibrugarh, known as the “Tea City of India,” has a majority of tea tribe communities, making them a key voting bloc.
“I’m happy to receive all the welfare schemes from the government. Recently, we received the ‘Eti Koli Duti Paat’ scheme. This present government really thinks about us, and we are happy with their initiatives. Earlier, during Congress rule, we did not get such benefits, but now the Modi government cares for us,” she said.
She added, “The government recently hiked our daily wage to Rs 280. We are grateful to the Assam government for this move.”
Anita Tanti, another tea plucker, said, “We requested the government to expand the Orunodoi scheme because most of us are not receiving it. Some women’s names are still missing from the list of beneficiaries. If the government expands it, it will help us a lot.”
“Our socio-economic condition has improved a lot compared to previous years. During Congress rule, we did not receive many benefits, but now we are satisfied with the government,” she added.
“If the government provides us Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, it will be even more beneficial to our community. We have been fighting for ST status, but it has not been granted yet. We request the government to give us the ST tag as soon as possible,” Binita Munda, another tea plucker, said.
Ahead of the Assam Assembly polls, the state government has approved the inclusion of 37 tea garden communities in Assam under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
The move aims to advance social justice and strengthen the rights and welfare of tea garden populations. It also introduces a streamlined dual-certification process to facilitate easier access to OBC certificates and related benefits.
“We are happy that, after many protests, the government finally approved the inclusion of 37 tea garden communities as OBCs. The previous government ignored us, but the present government has taken the right steps,” said Lakhindra Kurmi, assistant general secretary of the Assam Tea Tribe Students’ Association (ATTSA).
He added, “The government should also provide us ST status, which has not yet been granted. During every election, they promised the ST tag, but after the elections, the issue was not prioritized.”
“Tea garden communities are a deciding factor in every election in Assam because they constitute a major population in the tea belts of upper Assam. The tea tribe community, which was loyal to Congress for many years, has shifted to BJP after the government provided several welfare schemes for their benefit,” said Rupak Bhattacharjee, a political analyst.
He added, “ST status has been a lingering issue because the community expected it before the elections, but the government has not yet addressed it. It will be interesting to see how the government handles this matter ahead of the polls.”